12.12.23
Bottoms is pretty bonkers as far as high-school comedies go. It’s elevated by great comedic timing, especially from Rachel Sennott, who has been excellent in both films I’ve seen her in so far (Shiva Baby and Bodies, Bodies, Bodies). What I like most about the film though, is how it manages to capture one of the universe’s most powerful feelings so well: horniness.
It’s also pretty accurate, although in an over-the-top way about how high school can be such an intense landscape of closed cliques and social hierarchies. There’s a boisterous energy to the story and a sense of mayhem that attempts to blend the best parts of Heathers, Superbad and Booksmart all into one.
But while Bottoms tries to craft a compelling narrative amongst the chaos surrounding the characters we see, the film doesn’t quite reach the hilarious heights that the movie’s name suggests. To my taste, the jokes are mildly funny at best, relying on raunchiness and swearing rather than clever writing for laughs. Outside of Rachel Sennott’s committed performance, the young cast hustle, but don’t sell the big laughs. The absurdist ending also didn’t work for me, feeling like a bit of a cop-out and missing an opportunity to make a more meaningful statement.
Bottoms has a playful mischievous spirit and is unafraid of being ridiculous, much to the credit of its cast as well as its talented young director Emma Seligman. But for all its youthful mischief, Bottoms doesn’t come out on top as even near the year’s funniest films and instead squanders its intriguing premise.